What Not To Do To Your Motorcycle

The sport of motorcycles is all about freedom. This freedom means different things to different riders. You may love the feeling of the open road. You might be drawn to the thrill of leaning the bike through a curve, just on the edge of control. It might be the love of hopping on your bike for a days ride with no destination in mind. Maybe your bike is a way to express yourself and your style. All of these are great things and worthy reasons to ride. In this article, we are going to focus on the last one.

Expressing yourself and your style through accessorizing your motorcycle can be great. Ultimately, it is your motorcycle and you should do whatever you want to do to it. Honestly, my opinion or anyone else's, shouldn't matter when it comes to expressing your unique style. That being said, in my time in the motorcycle industry, I have see people do some very silly things to their bikes. Some of the things are a matter of taste others represent a safety concern.

Oversized Front Wheels

I know, I know. The big wheel fad has been around for awhile and tons of people have them and claim to love them. I will admit, from an aesthetic point of view, I see the attraction. The big 30" front wheel looks really cool. For anyone that actually rides, it is what we call a "Looking at Bike". They ride horrible and handle even worse. On most bikes anything bigger than a 23" wheel, requires a frame modification. Don't get me wrong, there are some great kit out there, but you are intentionally ruining your bike. If you ever go to a rally and see a big wheel bike, there is a really good chance they live just down the road, or trailered it. If you want a bike you can ride, but love the look, I would recommend a 21" wheel. Recently, Harley-Davidson down sized the front wheel on the CVO models from a 21" to a 19" due to ride quality and handling characteristics.

Stick On Chrome

Auto Zone has a great assortment of chrome "accessories" with skulls and spikes that you can attach to various parts of your motorcycle with double sided tape. Don't. Okay, if you just have to, maybe one well placed piece may not ruin your bike. Of course, I have never seen a bike that only has one. They tend to cover the bike and place them in seemingly random spots. I believe the glue must be laced with some kind of addictive substance that makes people want to keep adding gaudy silly things to their bike. Of course, its your bike and you do you. Just know the stares you get when you pull up to a bike night are not stares of admiration and you are destroying the resale value of your bike. If you would like to add some "flair" to your bike, stick with a good quality product, not "chrome" plated plastic.

Improper Foot Controls

Heel Toe Shifters only belong on bikes with floorboards. When you add a heel toe shifter to a bike with pegs, it is more than just silly, it is dangerous. Every bike I have seen with foot pegs and a heel toe shifter, the rear shifter sits level or below the foot peg. Have you ever drug your pegs on the ground going through a sharp curve? Well, if that happens and you have a Heel Toe shifter, you run the risk of rubbing the rear shifter arm. You could easily accidently change gears by dragging the rear shifter peg. It should seem obvious that unexpectantly changing the torque to the rear wheel in a steep lean going through a curve could be catastrophic.

Gutting your Converter

If you have a newer M8 motor gutting your cat does nothing but reduce the power and performance of your motorcycle. I have seen many great builds on bikes with gutted cats. Every single time, there is a flat spot in the torque curve. If you are going through the trouble and expense of upgrading your motor, go with a good quality performance head pipe. If that is not in your budget, just leave the stock head pipe and get a nice set of slip ons.

Low Quality Replacements and Accessories

It's no secret, motorcycles are expensive. A new Harley-Davidson cost between $12,000 and $50,000, depending on the model. The average price of a Harley-Davidson is about $26,000. So, we are making this big investment into a toy. Why would you spend so much on a bike just to skimp out and replace existing parts with lower quality parts? It's like wearing dirty tennis shoes with an Armani suit. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I see it everyday. Harley-Davidson takes a beating online. Every "expert" will talk about how they skimp here or this or that sucks. That same "expert" will take a quality built part that is designed and proven to perform and last and replace it with a cheap inferior part because they think it looks better. It's just silly. Now, don't get me wrong, there are aftermarket companies that do offer superior accessories, especially in the performance arena. I see a lot of cheap Chinese parts that someone found on Amazon. These may look okay when they are new, but with time, they fade, rust, or just fail all together. I would encourage you to stay away from anything with chrome plated ABS (plastic), not from a reputable brand, or that you found on Amazon for a "great deal". I suggest sticking to a reputable motorcycle specific site, like J&P Cycles.